I used to smoke pot as a teenager and when I was in my young 20s. At first it was fun, but I soon got a lot of anxiety from smoking marijuana.

Some anxious people claim that marijuana (or pot or cannabis) calms them down. But I always got major marijuana anxiety. The crazy thing was, even though I would become paranoid and feel really awful after smoking it, I continued to smoke for about a year and a half. Reason being that’s what my freinds at the time did- I guess it was a peer pressure thing. Oh the joys of being a teenager…

So because of the marijuana anxiety I haven’t smoked pot in years. In fact I wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole. It would be like asking for a 3 hour panic attack complete with paranoid thoughts. Yeah, um…no thanks…

However, my sister is an occasional pot smoker and absolutely loves it- always has. She claims it calms her down and mellows her out. Now she has never had anxiety issues like me, but I think it’s interesting that 2 sisters that obviously share a similar genetic makeup would have polar opposite experiences with marijuana.

In a recent article in Elle Magazine, one woman who suffered with generalized anxiety disorder sought out the help of a psychiatrist, and even tried Zoloft for her panic attacks and agoraphobia. None of these things helped her. What does help her is relaxing at the end of the day by vaporizing a thimbleful of pot. As she puts it, “I’ve run through enough pharmaceutical drugs to know that pot dulls my panic better than any pill.”

You should know that this woman also gave up caffeine, and she exercises and meditates regularly. So for her, marijuana is a solution she uses to stop panic attacks and anxiety.

Because of my horrible paranoid high history with pot, the only herb I go near these days is my trusty Holy Basil. And the only thing I’ve ever put in a vaporizer is Vicks when my kids were babies 😉

I would never suggest that anyone go smoke marijuana for anxiety, but I’m glad to hear it helps others. I would love to hear what you think about pot and your experiences with it.

4 Responses to Marijuana Anxiety

LOl. I just recently started getting your emails, Jill and I really enjoy them. I have had anxiety/panic disorder since I was 23 and I still struggle with it at 36. I was diagnosed with a thyroid disease this year and finally got my thyroid leveled out and it has made a tremendous difference with my anxiety. The past year was like an entire anxiety attack, it was miserable and torturous, I dreaded thinking about living like this for the rest of my life, thinking that maybe I will die early, after my kids have grown and be in Heaven with peace. Anyways, about smoking weed, my sister and I did it in high school and she had a severe panic attack and had to go to the emergency room. She was unknowingly hyperventilating and could not move her fingers or legs. She never touched it again. I also know a friend that told me whenever she used to smoke it she would have anxiety attack and she would cry but then she would do it again with the same results so she finally ended up not doing it anymore. It makes me nervous just to think about smoking it although I don’t mind taking other herbs. Ps..My xanax has been my lifesaver in the past 13 years. I don’t take it often but it helps me like NOTHING else can. Thanks for your emails. Glad to know others are dealing with this too!
God Bless US ALL!

You are so welcome. I’m glad you like the emails, hopefully they are helping you. That’s great that you got your thyroid nightmare ironed out. How horrible- so much pain and difficulty can come from that little gland being gout of whack! With regards to the pot I was like your friend, it made me feel terrible but I kept smoking it. Oh the joys of peer pressure and fitting in – glad that’s behind me. And I’m glad you found something that helps you. A lot of people hate prescription meds, but used properly, they can be real lifesavers. You’re absolutely right.

Just wanted to share my experience with cannabis. When I was in my 20s I tried it for a few months. It made me paranoid and nervous. Age 32 I tried pot again and this time it totally calmed me down. Changes since 20s were that I’d taken up meditation, was into peace and calm whereas in 20s was just looking for a fun time, also have a chronic illness. Although, I want to say that I’ve stopped using it except incredibly rarely as the side effects (“where are my keys???”) aren’t worth it to me. Now I’m trying out lots of other things. Holy Basil, Lavender, Lobelia, those help with my anxiety a lot. Yea, I’m an anxious guy 🙂 I use a vaporizer, but when people talk about vaping herbs it isn’t the type that you stick vicks into, it is specially made to heat herbs up to the point where their essential elements boil off and you just get the vapor without the smoke. Much healthier.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Ah the innocence of youth and the wisdom of age! So glad to hear you are finding natural herbs that help you! I will have to look into Lobelia, I’ve never heard of that one. And thanks for cluing me in on what Vaporizing is 🙂